Alum Stories: Advocating for Massage Therapists
Sarah Haar has always been engaged in her local Red Wing community. So, it made sense for her to get involved with the Minnesota chapter of the American Massage Therapist Association (AMTA-MN). At the end of 2019, she ran for an Assembly of Delegates position for Minnesota and started her term at the end of February 2020. Then, the pandemic hit, “And it became even more evident how we needed more voices out there for massage therapy,” she explained. “We weren’t even listed in the shutdowns at first. Just acknowledgement as a profession would be amazing.”
Advocating for State Licensure for Massage Therapists
Sarah is now in her second year as president of AMTA-MN. Licensure for massage therapists in Minnesota—one of only four states without it—is a top priority. Sarah rents a room in a salon, making it clear to her every day the discrepancy between massage therapists and other professions.
Every other profession within the building has a license. Tattoo artists, piercers, stylists, nail technicians. That’s awesome for them, but I’m sitting here with just as much continuing education and education background as any of them, and I don’t have licensure to recognize that.”
More than recognition of the profession, Sarah sees it as a safety issue. “I’m in a city and county without any regulation for massage therapy. So, there could be massage therapists in this town who have never been to school whatsoever,” she explained. “And I’m not talking about people who’ve been practicing for 40 years and didn’t go to school because there weren’t schools around, it is completely feasible for someone just starting out to have gone to school.”
Why does this matter? “Something could go wrong. For example, with varicose veins we could dislodge a blood clot. Knowledge of how to steer clear of doing harm is so incredibly important, because the possibilities are out there that harm could be done. And why have those possibilities out there when it could be avoided?”
Bringing Massage Therapists Together
Beyond advocating for licensure, another priority for Sarah and AMTA-MN is to build community among massage therapists in Minnesota—including those working rurally. They recently sold out an event in Duluth, even after adding extra spots. “As massage therapists, you can feel isolated within your own profession, because you’re stuck in a dark room all day,” she shared. “It fills your cup to have other massage therapists to talk to.”
Another thing that fills her cup? Her clients. In practice since 2008, Sarah sees a wide variety of clients, with a specialty in rehabilitative massage. “I would say one of my favorite things is when they realize ‘massage is not just a luxury.’ It’s something needed in their life,” she reflected. “I would say massage is healthcare: there’s the physical aspect and also the mental, emotional aspect of taking time for yourself.”